The second Taiwan Food Buyers Delegation to Indiana was warmly welcomed in Indianapolis by Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman on April 29, 2008. Accompanied by Commercial Division Director Paul C. F. Wang and other officials of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago, the delegation traveled in the state after attending the Global Food and Style Expo 2008 in Chicago on April 26-28.
At a meeting held with the delegation early on April 29, Lieutenant Governor Skillman spoke about the importance of international trade to Indiana’s agricultural economy. “We saw the direct results of our efforts to build ties with exporters,” she said, referring to the Indiana food and agricultural trade mission that she led to Taiwan in the fall of 2006. “Indiana products were for sale on the shelves of Taiwanese shops. Our industries have clearly benefited from the partnership Indiana enjoys with Taiwan,” she noted. Also attending the meeting were Agriculture Department Director Andy Miller and International Development Office Director Steve Akard of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.
Immediately following the meeting, Agricultural Trade Office Director Keith Schneller of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) gave a market overview of food and agricultural opportunities in Taiwan for Indiana businesses. The delegation then held informal business meetings with several Indiana food and agribusiness concerns, including specialty grain producers and wineries.
Afterward, the delegation traveled to West Lafayette for a tour of the Purdue University Food Science Laboratory. Delegation members visited Fair Oaks Farms dairy on April 28, and the Caito Food Service on April 30.
In the summer of 2005, Indiana Governor Mitchell Daniels led his first Asian trade mission as governor, making stops in Taiwan and Japan. Later that year and in 2006, Taiwan organized food buyers and agricultural missions to visit Indiana. During the 2006 visit, the food buyers delegation struck a deal to purchase locally produced wine for export, directly benefiting the Indiana wine industry.
Taiwan ranks as the world’s sixth-largest market for US agricultural and food products and is second only to Canada in terms of per-capita consumption of US produce. Indiana’s exports to Taiwan reached US$116.993 million in 2007, an increase of 10.9 percent compared over the previous year. Taiwan is Indiana’s 25th largest export market worldwide. Indiana’s annual exports to Taiwan have accounted for about 0.5 percent of all US exports to Taiwan each year since 2003.
Contact: http://www.midwestUSAChina.com
